The rumor that Apple was looking to release a tweaked version of its third generation iPad this fall popped up back in June of this year. And at the time, it seemed crazy. Why would Apple refresh a 6 month-old product?

But over the past 4 months, the story has really started picking up momentum, as several reports have pointed to Apple unveiling the retooled iPad at its iPad mini event next week. Then today, this picture surfaced…

While it will likely be the star of the show, the iPad mini isn’t the only new device Apple is going to be unveiling at next week’s event. Word is that the company has a new MacBook and some updated desktops to show off as well.

And according to a new report, Apple is also going to introduce a retooled third generation iPad next Tuesday. The updated tablet is said to feature the new Lightning connector, global LTE support and other improvements…

A Microsoft engineer in a Reddit thread made a bold claim that a 1,366-by-768 pixel resolution display on the Surface tablet is way sharper than the 2,048-by-1,536 pixel resolution Retina display on the iPad 3. The comment left some scratching their head, wondering if Microsoft found a way to bypass the laws of physics.

President of DisplayMate Technologies Raymond Soneira is an expert at these things: he previously dispelled Heatgate, recently rated the iPhone 5 as having the best display in a smartphone and now is back with a brief shootout concerning the Surface’s ClearType sub-pixel rendering allegedly improving display clarity beyond what Apple’s device offers…

Microsoft is nothing if not an expert when it comes to spinning technology. Take for instance the software giant’s latest comments that its Surface tablet actually outperforms the iPad’s Retina display. You remember the Retina, the display with 3.9 million pixels and described by some as the best display ever for a mobile device?

Well, turns out the Surface’s 1,366-by-768 display is even better at something called “perceived resolution.” Microsoft engineer Steve Bathiche told a Reddit audience this week that the tablet’s ClearType technology can reduce the glare from reflected light. The Surface’s display reflects between 5.5 percent and 6.2 percent of light, compared to 9.9 for the iPad, according to the engineer…

More cracks are beginning to show in the Apple-Samsung partnership as the South Korean conglomerate’s component arm lost a significant amount of orders to rival LG Display. Coincidentally or not, the news arrives in the aftermath of the $1 billion ruling in the Apple v. Samsung trial. Samsung used to be the prime supplier of high-resolution Retina panels for Apple’s third-generation iPad, but no longer.

Seeking ways to reduce its dependency on Samsung, Apple reportedly shifted panel orders to LG Display. It’s not just a minor re-shuffling: Samsung last month saw iPad panel orders reduced to just 28 percent of its July output. We’ve seen what order stoppage rumors can do to market cap. I’d watch Samsung’s share price closely these days…

Apple’s iPad is once again ranked as the No. 1 tablet in the United States. However, the company’s lead over Amazon’s Kindle Fire is as razor-thin as its products. According to customer satisfaction researcher JD Power, Apple scored 848 points with Amazon close behind with 842 out of 1,000.

The Cupertino, Calif. firm can be thankful that US consumers found the iPad tops for performance and ease of use — categories heavily weighed in the survey — while Amazon hit it out of the ballpark in price, an area carrying just 16 percent of the final score…

Apple’s “resolutionary” iPad 3 brings with it the company’s best Retina Display yet, featuring an astounding resolution of 2,048-by-1,536 pixels. Because so many pixels are crammed up on the same 9.7-inch canvas, much stronger backlight is required in order to push the light through the pixels, taxing the battery and adding up to the device’s overall thickness.

A new report cites a prominent display expert who claims that Cupertino is working on an improved Retina tech for an updated third-generation iPad. The new display is thought to be thinner and consume less power, allowing for a new iPad stock-keeping unit (SKU) with a slightly better battery life and lower heat dissipation…

Verizon just announced that it’s going to flip the LTE switch on in 34 new markets tomorrow, and will also be expanding its 4G coverage in another 38.

We’ll get to the new markets in a moment, but perhaps more interesting is the milestone. After tomorrow’s rollout, Verizon’s LTE network will be in more than 370 markets, blanketing close to two-thirds of the the country’s population…